Planning Development and Special Initiatives (PDSI) Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah visited Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to personally monitor the progress and updates on 7th Population and Housing Census.
Chief Census Commissioner Dr Naeemuz Zafar, Member SSRM, Sarwar Gondal, Member C&S, Ayazuddin and other senior officers of PBS welcomed him.
Chief Statistician and Chief Census Commissioner Dr Naeemuz Zafar apprised the secretary of the target of conducting the first-ever digital census, saying PBS along with collaborating partners is about to achieve the target.
SSRM Member Muhammad Sarwar Gondal gave a brief presentation regarding the progress of the field operation and informed him about the main issues that were faced during enumeration especially in big cities due to non-response and non-completion of work in high-rise buildings.
He shared that PBS has already identified issues and communicated to relevant officials concerned for taking appropriate action. Execution of census field exercise is the responsibility of provincial governments and DCs/ACs are responsible for assurance of complete coverage in their respective areas of responsibility.
Shah was of the view that though PBS is about to complete the census, teams need to be more vigilant in covering the remaining areas and leftover structures/homes to ensure complete coverage. He also emphasised that all abnormal trends in data all over Pakistan may be cross-checked with SUPARCO imagery for verification and NADRA may also be involved in a forensic audit. He highlighted that census is a gigantic task, therefore, issues may arise, but PBS should make efforts to undergo more in-depth analysis to redress and audit the issues highlighted by various stakeholders. Moreover, efforts should be made to improve the process to ensure transparency and wider acceptability.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2023.
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